Fishing-bait.



J. L. DONALY.

FISHING BAIT.

APPLICATION FILED JANJ, 1911.

1,093,980, Patented Apr. 21, 1914 Ano/mfr.

.JAMES L. DONALY, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY. i

i FISHING-BAH.

specification of Letters patent.

Patented Apr. 2,1, 191,4.

To all Iwhom it may concern.'4

Be it known that I, J AMES L. DoNALY, a citizen of 'the United States, residin at Newark, in the county of Essex and tate of New Jersey, have invented certainv Improvements in F ishing-Baits, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to\baits orY lures .for anglers use such as maybe used for casting trolling or' surface fishing, and the obJects of the invention are/to secure such a bait or lure as will resemble some form of live bait, as the sh shown in the drawings; to provide the bait with blades which will have different natural movements adapted to attract the fish; to provide means for attaching a hook which shall permit the ready application and removal of said hook; to secure a bait that is Well balanced and will occupy a natural position in the water; to secure a simple and durable construction which shall not present undue obstruction to the passae of the bait through the water, and to obtain other advantages and results as may be brought out in the following description.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the sev eral figures, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved fishing bait; Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section of the body of the same; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the bait; Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the bait; Fig. 5 is a view of the front oscillating blade, partly in section; Fig. 6 is an edge view of the springlink on which a sh-hook lhangs underneath the bait, and Fig. 7 is a side view of the same.

In said drawings, l indicates a buoyant body portion of wood or other suitable material, preferably shaped in imitation of a fish, as shown, and painted as desired. The head of this fish-shaped body portion 1 is tapered by opposite vertical recesses 2,` 2, said recesses havlng their -bottoms curved longitudinally of the fish-shaped body and /preferably converging vertically .downward as shown in Fig. 4 so as to give the bait a V- shaped head which tends to keep said head up as the bait is drawn through the water. The eyes 3, 3 are located in said recesses 2, 2 on opposite sides of the hea-d of the bait.

Application tiled January 7, 1911. Serial No. 601,277.

The fish-shaped body 1 is bored longitudinally from tip to tip and a wire 4 extends therethrough, said Wire having at its oppos1te ends loops 5, 6` which lie close to the opposite ends of the body l to prevent longitudma-l motion of said wire 4 in said body and also provide means for attaching other parts hereinafter described. The loop 5 at the head of the body portion 1 is preferably formed by doubling back the end ofthe wire and soldering it behind 'the loop or eye 5 latwise agalnst the main ortion of the wire, as at 7; by so doing, a attened portion is provided which when forced into the body 1 will prevent the Wire 4 from turning. A ring8 passes through the loop 6 at the tail of the body 1 and also through the eye of a ish-hook 9 of any suitable and well-known type, so that said hook is connected to the said body. .f

Intermediate of its ends the fish-shaped body portion 1 has a tubular socket 10 boredA upward in itself from its under side and extending-past the wire 4, as shown in'Fi 2. Preferably this socket l() is located a llttle forward of the middle of the fish-shaped body, although it can be located as desired. The mouth of said socket 10 is vpreferably protected by a light metal bushing 11. In said socket 10 is loosely arranged a springlink 12 having its inner end attached to the bait body and its outer end adapted to detachably receive a fish-hook 13. PreferablyA the outer end of said spring-link l2 does not project materially from the socket 10, so that :asl

when the fish-hook 13 is not used said-l spring-link will afford little or no obstruction to the passage of the bait through the Water, it being understood that the purpose of the spring link is toenable the fish-hook `13 to be attached and detached at pleasure.

14, 15 have curved ends 17, 18 which .are-

pressed atwise together in the.l plane of the Hook 13.

kAt the front end of the bait isla short` straight wire 20 with an eye at each end, one as 21 engaging the loo end of the wire Il, and t e other eye 22 adapted to receive the fish-line. Upon this wire 20, between said eyes 21, 22 is a rotatable hollow ball 23 having at one side of itself a bow `24 arranged in the plane of the wire 20. U on this bow 24 is h by means ofv a ole 25 in one corner of itself a triangular blade 26, said blade preferably of flat sheet-metal andhaving its base and corners rounded, as shown. This blade 26 is loosely hung upon the bow 24,

j and as the bait is drawn through the water yaus slowly, said blade4 oscillates from side to side until when the speed of the bait becomes; fast enough said blade revolves completely around the wire 20, v the ball 23 turning,

thereon.

I prefer to place upon the upper part of the ring `8 arear oscillating b ade 27, and upon the. under side of the fish-shaped body portion 1, near its rear lend o r tail, a bot-4 tom oscillating blade 28 attached .to said `body 1 byy a staple 29 arranged ,in the vertical longitudinal plane 4of the bait, substantially. Both these blades 27 and 28 are similar to the front blade 26, except ref' erably of thinner sheet-metal, althoug of course any of the blades can be varied in size or weight without departing from my invention; Their shape can also be variedj somewhat, both as to edge lines and de arture from fiatness, without removin t em; from the scope ofvmy invention un er the doctrine of equivalents. The rear blade 27 and bottom blade 28 of course simply oscillate and do not revolve completely.

It will be understood that as the bait is drawn through the water the rear hook 9* extends backward very muchV as shown in Fig. 1with the blade'27 just in front of it, and the under hook 13 also trails backward so that its barbed prongs lie close to the blade 28. Obviously, therefore, as the bait travels through the water, the blades 27, 28 will create disturbances which obscure the hooks 9, 13 from view.

The body portion 1 may be weighted or ballasted in any suitable manner, as bythe lead plug 30, which I have shown in Fi 2. Obviously 'the recesses 2, 2 at the hea of 5 at the front4 -projecting from rthe ,bo

- providing .the fish-shaped body portion afford space for the movements of the front blade 26, especially when a larger one ,than shown in the drawings is employed. Y n

Thecurved extremity 19 of the attached en'd of the spring link 12 which enables the fish-hook to be readily caught thereon, as explained, flares sufficiently to prevent the hook from passing it when in lace on the spring link, so that there is no an er ofthe ,hook becoming inadvertently detac ed.

Just before us' the bait, the hollow ball 23 is preferably ed'with oil, which itretains to a considerable degree, thus serving as an Yoil-cup, so that the rotation of the` front blade upon the wire 2O is facilitated.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

1.l In a fishing bait, the combination with an elongatedr buoyant body, of a non-rotatable member providin a bowed' portion r in fixed relation thereto and longitudinally thereof, and a 'substantially triangular blade with a erforation near its apex receiving said owed portion, said --blade adapted to oscillate transversely of the body and be limited at the,l ends of'its oscillations by'contact with said body, whereby an effect issecured in the bait simulating the mov' fin of a fish.

2." In a. bait, the com ination with an elongated 'buoyant body, of anon-rotatable'member' at the rear part of said body bowed portion disposed longitudinally f said body, a triangular blade with a. tra verse perforation near its apex receiving adapted tooscillate in a plane transverse to the body and prevented from -rotating by engagin the part adjacent said bowed portion, an a hook attached to the body and adapted to lie adjacent said blade in operation of the bait.

3. In a fish' bait, the combination of an elongated bo y having a tubular socket extending transversely inward from its outer surface, a spring-link in said socket comprising arms hinged together at one end and at the other resiliently engagin ,each other, and ymeans for securing sait? hinged end of said arms pivotally in said socket, the other end of the spring-link lying free in the mouth of the socket.

4.1m a ishin an elongated y having a tubular socket extending transversely inward from its outer surface, a wire extending longitudinally of said body and transversely throu h said socket, and a spring-link in said soc et having at one end an eye receivin said wire and at its other end arms opposltely curved in the `plane of the sprng-hnk-and resiliently engaging each other in sidewise rela.- tion.

5. In a fishing bait, the combination of link at the bait, the combination of curved ends of said arms being bent Haring outward away from the other arm.

JAMES L. DONALY.

Witnesses CORNELIUS ZABRISKIE, FRANCES E. BLODGET'L 

